Here are a half dozen new fly patterns I learned to tie the last few months during the Winter Fly Tying Classes that look pretty good to me. I’ll give you a caveat…I haven’t fished these, but they sure look fishy and I can’t wait to try them out. Here are a trio of flies Peter Bowers…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly pattern is the Madam X, an attractor dry fly. The original fly used a body of deer hair from the butt ends of the tail with thread spiraled through it. Many variations have been created over the years, including the one above using yellow floss. Fish it to imitate…
Well, I just finished 13 consecutive weeks of managing and coordinating our local fly club’s Winter Fly Tying Classes. While the club was doing this for several years before I joined, I’ve taken over the reigns for the last four years. The rules are pretty simple…be a club member, know the basics of fly tying…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Schroeders Parachute Hopper. Developed in the 1970s by Ed Schroeder of Fresno, California, it was one of the first fly patterns to add the parachute post to increase visibility for the fly fisher. The body stays flush on the surface while the parachute hackle helps with flotation. Most…
I’ve been thinking…how many fly patterns do I really need to successfully fish rivers? Kind of a crazy question coming from a fly tyer, isn’t it? I didn’t say flies…fly patterns. The style of dry flies found in your fly box. Is there a difference? Absolutely! You can never have enough flies!!! But think about…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday fly is the Western Coachman. It can be fished wet or dry. I got the idea for this fly after reading my most recent copy of Northwest Fly Fishing. There was a very nice article called Masters at the Bench by David Johnson, featuring Buz Buszek. Looking through the list…
Last weekend, I attended the 2015 NW Fly Tyer & Fly Fishing Expo in Albany, Oregon. I was the Chair for this year’s event, sponsored by the Oregon Council of the International Federation of Fly Fishers. I was pleased to meet several of you who are frequent readers of RiverKeeper Flies. Thanks for stopping me to…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday fly is the March Brown Wet Fly. I decided to continue the theme of my last post – March Brown Time. I tied this fly many years ago. Can’t remember what book I found it in, but I’m sure it was for a “just in time” fly fishing trip. Probably…
Spring is here. That means it’s March Brown time. I saw a small hatch on the river last week. Here is one of them. I think it’s early, but our weather has been so mild I’m really not surprised. In fact, I was looking for them. I took one of my bug vials filled with Purel…
Time for another Throw Back Thursday fly…the Carrie Stevens Pink Beauty Streamer. Some of you may have seen the Carrie Stevens Pink Beauty Streamer before, but this is the first time as a TBT fly. There is a certain beauty about Carrie Stevens streamers. The sleekness of lines, combination of colors…I’ve only tied two of them,…
